Bans on texting hard to enforce, police tell panel

Some Texas cities that have banned cellphone texting while driving have found enforcement of the bans problematic, police told the Amarillo Traffic Commission on Wednesday.

The panel has been studying the pros and cons of such a citywide ban at the request of the Amarillo City Commission, Public Works Director Michael Rice said. The traffic commission’s role is to advise the city’s elected leaders about any proposed changes to traffic ordinances and policies.

The traffic panel tabled action on the issue, opting to continue discussion at its next meeting in January.

Amarillo police began enforcing a ban on handheld cellphone use while driving within school zones in August.

The ban excludes drivers whose vehicles are legally stopped, law enforcement and drivers making emergency calls. Drivers can use phones via hands-free devices in school zones.

Since August, police have issued 39 citations for cellphone use and 17 warnings, and just two citations for texting, according to information compiled by Lt. Mike Miller of the department’s traffic division.

The problem with a texting-while-driving ban that does not bar cellphone use entirely comes for officers who must determine how a driver is using a phone, he said.

Officers also would have difficulty distinguishing between a driver tapping a phone to make a call or text messages, Miller said.

El Paso and Austin are among Texas cities that have cellphone and texting bans citywide for two years, Miller said.

In that time, Austin has issued just 300 citations for texting, a small number for a city of more than 800,000 people, he said.

“They have had problems enforcing the texting issue, since it has been more difficult to observe,” Miller said. “The major problem is proving the violator was using the cellphone to text. ... To prove someone is using their cellphone to text, the officer can’t seize the phones to see if the person was texting someone.”

El Paso also has issued few citations for texting, though it has tagged a number of violators using cellphones for calls while driving, Miller said. El Paso’s law carries a $500 fine for convicted offenders, according to information Interim City Engineer Taylor Withrow provided the traffic commission.

While no state completely bans all types of cellphone use by drivers, 30 states, including Texas, bar young drivers from using cellphones, Withrow’s memo shows.

Nineteen states bar bus drivers from using cellphones while driving, 34 states ban text-messaging by drivers, and nine states ban all drivers from using a handheld phone behind the wheel, Withrow said.

Withrow quoted information from the National Safety Council stating that the use of a cellphone while driving increases the chances of a crash by 400 percent.

Miller said, because of the enforcement problems a texting-while-driving ban poses, he has them referred to, in some circles, as a “feel good type of law. Law-abiding citizens of Amarillo would have to take it upon themselves ... and refrain from doing so.”

Traffic commissioners also brought up the possibility of the city conducting a public education campaign about the issue.

In other business Wednesday, the traffic commission approved installation of a four-way stop at the intersection of Kingston Road and Granada Drive in southwest Amarillo. Residents of the surrounding Ridgecrest neighborhood petitioned for the change.

Those who spoke at the meeting said cars take a curve in Granada Drive at excessive speeds, some winding up in yards and, in extreme cases, causing damage to homes.

The four-way stop must be approved by the City Commission at a future meeting before signs can be installed, Withrow said.

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